Arthroscopic Knee Surgery

I am a very active 47 year old male that has been having a problem with my left knee. I am an avid runner and have completed numerous road races including marathons. In early 2007 I started to develop pain in my left knee which resulted in having arthroscopic surgery to remove torn meniscus in October. I was able to return to running within one month and all seemed well. A couple of months ago the pain retuned, much worse. I have not been able to run more than short distances and going up stairs is extremely painful. I went back to the doctor who ordered another MRI be done.

They discovered that I had a fairly large cyst on the back of my left knee. However, this did not seem to be the area that caused the pain. The MRI did not reveal what was causing the cyst and it was determined that the best course of action would be to do another arthroscopic procedure to check further. I was also told that I have catagory 3 cartilige loss in the knee. The procedure is scheduled for this upcoming Friday.

My symptoms have been, moderate pain in the left knee, a feeling that my knee was going to give out, occasional popping of my knee. Walking on flat ground is not too painful, but any incline/decline makes it worse. I also have limited motion in the knee and am unable to squat very far down.

I am a police officer and fear that this may be an issue with my job. So far I have been able to work as my current assignment as school resource officer is not overly physical. However, there is always the potential that I would have to run after or subdue someone.

From my experience with grade 3 damage you might be a candidate for a unicpmpartment replacement. removed It is trememdously effective. The recovery is much easier, and shorter than total knee. I had some sharp pain after arthroscopy once that was due to surgery trauma. It took about a year for the pain to go away. Cortisone injections did not help.